Too Late For Apologies
by Crystal Royale
Summary: She wasn't supposed to feel, but now that she can, is it too late to apologize to the one person who truly cared about her? And will they forgive her for what she did to them?
1. Chapter 1

Hello, everyone! This is my first fanfic ever, so I hope you all enjoy it. Reviews are much appreciated, and critique is most welcome.

The idea for this fic came after I read a story by IVIaedhros that centered around Eliwood and Limstella. I've no idea how that relates to this story, but plot bunnies are weird anyways.

Now, on to the story!

**Disclaimer:** As much as I wish I did, I do not own Fire Emblem or any of the characters. Only thing I do own is a couple of rabid plot bunnies at the moment.

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Too Late For Apologies 

**Chapter One: The Half Reunion**

What was she to call this feeling? She had never been able to feel before; that ability, if you could call it that, had been erased from her very soul years and years ago, at her birth. So why was she now suddenly able to feel?

She stood at the edge of a dense forest, looking up at Castle Pherae. Seated on horses and ready to set off were a man and a woman. The woman's bright green hair was an interesting contrast to the man's blood red hair, which was half hidden by the way his cloak came up to wrap around his head. The woman's laughter carried down the hill, smiles appearing on the faces of those surrounding the pair on horseback. Even the mounted red head managed a small grin.

The woman in the forest turned, hiding behind a tree as the mounted pair finally started their journey away from Castle Pherae, returning home. When they passed the woman's hiding place, the woman was careful not to let them see her. With a slight shock, she noticed that the smiling green haired girl was expecting, looking to be at least three or four months along. This was probably the last long ride she would be able to take before the birth of her child.

Drawing her black cloak tighter around her, the woman followed the two riders, staying just close enough to keep them in sight, but not so close that they would see her.

_She seems happy,_ the woman noticed as she continued to gaze at the green haired woman. _Why am I glad that she is happy? I didn't used to be this way. And she's grown up, too. She's changed, but she's still the girl I knew all those years ago._

When the riders stopped for the night, the black cloaked woman hid in the trees within hearing distance, using as much of her magic as she dared to shield herself from the other two. The last thing she wanted was to be found out after all this time.

The girl busied herself by making a simple dinner while the man pitched a tent after tying the horses' rein securely to a nearby tree. The girl fed the horses while the soup cooked over the small fire, and by the time it was done, the man had finished his chore.

The two sat side by side in front of the fire, neither speaking. The man seemed to be on edge, and the girl seemed to be thinking about something very hard.

"Um . . . Jaffar?" she asked hesitantly after a long moment.

"What is it, Nino?" the man said quietly, giving the girl his full attention.

She hesitated again, toying with the gold band on her left ring finger.

"Do you . . . do you think I'll be a good mother?" she finally said.

It was obvious that she had asked this question before, judging by Jaffar's slight smile.

"Yes, I do," he assured her. "You are a kind person. Our children will be happy, starting with this one." He gently placed a hand on the slight swell of her belly.

Nino blushed slightly, smiling at her husband. "I know, I know; I've asked that before. But what if I turn out like Moth— I mean, Sonia?"

The woman hiding felt a stab of pain in her heart. Clutching it, she tried to understand what this feeling was, but she was not yet used to having feelings, and she had never learned the names of any sort of feeling except fear, which was something she had certainly never shown before. That emotion was reserved for the people she had killed.

Trying to clear her head, she turned her attention back to Nino and Jaffar, who was adamantly telling his young wife that she could never be like "that evil woman."

"She was never your real mother. She only raised you, if you could call it that. More like abused you." His voice was bitter, full of the malice one would expect from an assassin.

"I— I know," Nino said sadly. "But she didn't kill me, even if she threatened to more than once; even though she could've easily done it."

Jaffar just shook his head. "It's late," he told her after a moment. "You need your rest, and we've a long way to go tomorrow."

"You're right as usual, Jaffar," Nino smiled. Rising, the two went into their tent, Jaffar following Nino after he had put out the fire.

The night was quiet, leaving the hidden woman to think in peace.

_So they finally married then? And Nino's going to be a mother. She'll be a much better mother than I ever could have been. I'm glad that she's finally happy. She deserves to be happy. How could I even think to ruin that happiness?_

_Things have changed so much in such a short time. I can't believe how much she's grown up. It seems like only yesterday she was just a child trying to say her first words. Why did I never notice? Why did I never pay attention? How foolish of me._

The woman thought back to those long years spent in disgust. She had traveled across most of Elibe, mostly Valor and Bern, but it was in Etruria that she had first met Nino when Nino was just a baby. Her master had ordered her to keep the little girl, saying that "she may prove to be useful." Grudgingly, she had done that, but she had loathed the child that had turned out to be so pathetic. Only now did she realize how truly special Nino had been. A weaker person would have been broken had they gone through what Nino had, but Nino had not only endured the torture, but she had endured it with a smile on her face and the hope for a better tomorrow.

Nino had had everything taken away from her by this woman, and yet somehow, impossibly, Nino still loved the woman, and had even called her 'mother.' How could someone like that exist? And how could Nino still remember her? She could have easily forgotten about the woman that 'raised' her, but she hadn't. At that thought, warmth came to the woman's heart, giving her a sense of— what was the word? — oh yes— comfort.

_Maybe I have a chance after all . . . ._

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Well, that's it for the first chapter! I'm sorry if it's not very good, and I know it's rather short. Please be kind, and review? Please?

That's all for now! Sayonara!

Cryssy


	2. Chapter 2

Well, here we are at the beginning of the second chapter. I do hope you enjoy it.

Sonia: How could anyone possibly enjoy seeing me like this? This is pathetic! I ought to be dead, you refuse!

Cryssy: But you're not, Sonia dearest

Sonia: Oh, dear. Lord Nergal, help me!

Cryssy: Teehee! Now, on with the story!

**Disclaimer:** I do not have the honor of owning or creating Fire Emblem. Only thing I do own is a stack of books taller than I am. The plot bunnies refuse to be tamed.

Thanks to IVIaedhros and Lifes.Lover for reviewing!

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**Too Late For Apologies**

**Chapter Two: The Illusion of Home**

It was a few more days before Nino and Jaffar reached their simple home in a small town on the outskirts of Pherae, the house given to them by Lord Eliwood. The village was so secluded that no one knew of Jaffar's former role as an assassin, let alone that the young couple had ever been part of the Black Fang. To them, Jaffar was a simple farmer, and Nino was a much needed magic user with healing abilities. Both were welcome to start there lives in the small village.

Jaffar and Nino quickly settled back into the routine they had gotten used to after living in the village for nearly three years, only with the added anticipation of a child's impending arrival.

However, Jaffar and Nino weren't the only ones who came to the village. The black cloaked woman had followed them, continuing to watch them. After a while, it became obvious to the woman that she would need some place to stay while she was there, and so she left the village, returning a few days later and heading for the town's small inn. The innkeeper's wife was more than willing to give a room to an aging medicine woman.

"So, what brings you out here?" she asked, as she handed the 'medicine woman' a hot cup of tea.

The woman cleared her throat, taking a few sips before speaking in a soft, timid, distant sounding voice.

"W-well, I was looking f-for my d-daughter, but the l-last time I knew wh-where I was was j-just after I e-entered Lycia. I-I don't know w-what town this is, b-but I d-don't want to be a burden to a-anyone."

"Oh, you poor thing!" the innkeeper's wife exclaimed. "I'm so terribly sorry to hear that. You can stay here for as long as you like, deary. By the way, what's your name? I didn't catch it."

The woman hesitated for a moment. "It's So— Sophie," she said softly.

"Sophie? That's a lovely name. Well, welcome to our little village, Sophie. My name's Sarah. It's nice to meet you, Sophie."

"Ye-yes." the woman, Sophie, half smiled. "I-It's n-nice to m-meet you, t-too."

Sarah smiled brightly. "Come right this way, and I'll show you where you can stay for as long as you're here."

Sophie followed Sarah upstairs to a small room containing a bed, a table and chair, and a small chest-of-drawers with a mirror hanging over it. The room was simply decorated, with a blue quilt over the white sheets, and matching blue curtains over the window behind the table that served as a sort of desk.

"We're not a village with a history of magic here," Sarah explained, "so you're most welcome here, and I'm sure everyone'll tell you that. Actually, you're the second person I know of here who can use magic at all. Also, it seems we attract diseases here quite easily, so I'm sure that you'll be busy soon. That is, if you're willing to help," she added hastily. "And I know this isn't much, but we don't get as many travelers as we used to, and we are a small village after all."

Sophie shook her head. "N-No, no, th-this is fine," she assured the other woman. "A-and I-I couldn't ignore s-someone who was s-sick. I-if I can't find m-my d-daughter, I-I wasn't p-planning t-to go b-back home a-anyways."

Sarah looked at Sophie with a mixture of thankfulness and pity in her eyes. "Thank you, Miss Sophie. Shall I introduce you to Nino? She's our healer for the moment, but she's due in another six months, and there's no other healer to help her with the birth. She's a sweet girl, and her husband is a good man, but I do worry for them as young as they are. Nino can't be more than twenty, and Jaffar's older than her, but they're still young."

Sarah sighed. "And there I go babbling again. I do apologize. Ah, well, I'll leave you be for now so you can get settled. If you need anything, I'll be downstairs as usual. Oh and here's the key." She handed a brass key to Sophie. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow then!"

Sarah turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Sophie removed her cloak, draping it across the bed, and set her bag on the floor next to the chest-of-drawers. After placing her gloves on top of her cloak, she sat down on the edge of the bed.

_What is wrong with me? _she thought to herself. _Why did I lie to that woman? I had no reason to. So why? And where did 'Sophie' come from? I've never heard that name before._

_Something must be wrong with me. I should be dead . . . shouldn't I? And of all the things I could have done, I had to come here. But why? What could I possibly gain from coming here? Lord Nergal . . . . Lord Nergal is dead, right? Does that mean that everyone who served him is dead too? But why was I spared? I don't understand._

_What's happening to me? I'm . . . I'm _feeling_ . . . feeling emotions I've never felt before. Before, there was only Lord Nergal. Everyone else was unimportant. Refuse . . . . That's all . . . . Just refuse . . . ._

_But now . . . now I understand things I'd never thought about before. I hurt Brendan. I hurt his sons, too. And I hurt Nino more than anyone else. It's far too late to rectify the mistake I made . . . the wrongs I did to the Reed family. But is it too late to apologize to Nino? And what good could my existence possibly do? Wouldn't I just hurt her even more? And there's her child to think of, too, and Jaffar. He'll never forgive me for what I did to Nino._

_Maybe I should stay here for a while. At least until I figure out how to apologize to Nino. And if she refuses me, I would deserve it. She deserved better . . . . She deserves to live a peaceful, quite life, after what I put her through . . . after what I did to her and her birth family._

Sophie turned, gazing into the mirror. She hadn't changed much in the past few years. Her wavy hair was as black as ever, and her eyes were still a piercing gold color. Her skin was pale and without blemish, the same as everyone else who had been like her. The only thing that was different was the modest blue-black dress she now wore instead of the revealing black dress she had been wearing up until a few weeks prior.

Sophie sighed. _What's the use? Nino will recognize me as soon as we meet anyways._

Sophie sat, staring at her own eyes for a long time. Suddenly, she jumped up, racing to the mirror.

"What in—?" she breathed. "What?"

There was no mistaking it. As she had watched, her hair had taken on a bluish tint, and her eyes had gone from gold to light blue, the same color as Nino's.

Sophie stared in shock. "What in Elibe just happened to me?" She pushed a lock of hair behind one ear. She no longer looked like the person she had been mere moments ago.

Then another thought struck her—how was she going to explain her sudden change of appearance to Sarah?

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Well, there you have it! Sorry for the delay; I meant to post this earlier. I'll try my best to post the next chapter as soon as I can.

Oh, yes, Happy New Year! And Happy NaNoWriDay (even though it's tomorrow), and good luck to anyone who's participating!

Thanks for reading, and please review!

Cryssy


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